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Why Petrobras (PBR) Stock Is Climbing Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Petrobras(PBR - Get Report) shares are up 3.5% to $14.98 on Wednesday following reports that the fields it operates in the pre-salt areas of Santos and Campos Basins offshore Brazil have exceeded production of 500,000 barrels a day.

TheStreet Ratings team rates PETROBRAS-PETROLEO BRASILIER as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate PETROBRAS-PETROLEO BRASILIER (PBR) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its attractive valuation levels, increase in stock price during the past year and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

Compared to where it was 12 months ago, the stock is up, but it has so far lagged the appreciation in the S&P 500. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.

PETROBRAS-PETROLEO BRASILIER's earnings per share declined by 43.3% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. Stable earnings per share over the past year indicate the company has sound management over its earnings and share float. However, the consensus estimates suggest that there will be an upward trend in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, PETROBRAS-PETROLEO BRASILIER's EPS of $1.70 remained unchanged from the prior years' EPS of $1.70. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($3.65 versus $1.70).

The gross profit margin for PETROBRAS-PETROLEO BRASILIER is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 32.19%. It has decreased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 6.60% trails that of the industry average.

Net operating cash flow has decreased to $3,981.00 million or 46.59% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.